Of Prank Wars and What Follows
by agent iz hyper
Summary: Nix Rayde from Hermes teams up with our favourite Leo to rage a light-hearted prank war against her brothers Connor and Travis... But it'll end in much more than either of them bargained for. Leo/OC. / Abandoned... sorry. :/


**Chapter One : This means War.**

_**Leo/OC ; friendship/family/humour/romance... all in one :D**_

**So I decided to stray off the Harry Potter fanfic track and have a go at PJO 'cause it's so totally awesome. So is Leo. :P Soo here it is:**

I like the Hermes cabin much better since the end of the war. It's a whole lot spacier and... well, not exactly quieter or calmer (gods, no) but more peaceful, in a way, since all the undetermined kids got claimed.

I mean, being the kids of Hermes – who _is_ the god of thieves after all – it's not possible for our cabin to be calm, no way. My siblings wreak havoc and mayhem wherever they go.

Okay, so do I. Sometimes.

Whatever.

Especially Connor and Travis, who are, unfortunately, my brothers. Fortunately, though, they're only my _half_-brothers. I don't know what I'd do if I actually shared genes from _both _parents with those two.

Most likely it would have resulted in me strangling them to death or something equally horrific.

Don't get me wrong – I don't _hate_ them. Nah, Travis and Connor are awesome brothers (sometimes). They're hilarious (most of the time), and can cheer us up easily (well, that's when they're not intent on pranking us), and their pranks are always brilliant (almost always, anyway).

But, damn it, can they be annoying.

Though, guaranteed, that's a given for most brothers anyway. But really, those two go out of their way to dish some dirt on me, since I've done that (and so much more) to them. But I'm smarter than Travis and Connor (who isn't?) and luckily, I can be very evasive about things I don't want others to know. It's a gift. (Thanks Dad!)

Even with that, though, they don't stop.

Ever.

X

"_Yeah_! Connor, I actually got something!"

"Got… what, Travis?"

"I got - you know!"

"Wha—OH!"

Enter Tweedledee and Tweedledum. AKA, Travis and Connor (respectively).

…I don't really like the way Travis is looking over at me with that familiar wicked grin. And now Connor's caught on too. Crap, this can't be good.

"Why are you idiots looking at me?" I sigh, sitting up on my bed and pulling my iPod earphones off. I narrow my eyes at them suspiciously, just for good measure.

"Because, my dear Nixie," Travis starts with his evil chuckle, taking a couple more steps towards me.

Argh, I hate it when they call me that. It's _Nix_. Don't even _ask_ me what my full name is, I'll slaughter you. And don't call me _Nixie_, or_ Nixie-poo_, or any other demented formation of my name. It's N-I-X. NIX.

Yes, it's a touchy subject. No, I won't tell you why.

I stand up and mentally curse my mother's obscenely short genes; it hardly made any difference really. My small, pixie-like frame hardly compares to my brother's freakish tallness.

Well, alright, he's average height, but whatever.

"I've gotten some dirt on you, sis, that I don't think you'll want me to spread," he continues with a dramatic mysterious smirk.

Um. What the Hades is he talking about?

Connor joins in and nods triumphantly. "Yep. _We,_ know who _you_…" he trails off significantly and I roll my eyes.

Gods, these two are the most dramatic people ever. I mean, come on, there's not much that I've done recently that they can use as blackmail against me… Well, nothing that they could find out about anyway.

"What are you dim-wits talking about?" I ask, raising an eyebrow perfectly in a bored manner.

Really, I'm curious to what they're talking about. But don't you dare say anything. I'm a daughter of Hermes, remember? I can get anything – and I mean _anything_ – against you. _Any_thing.

That's right. _Be _afraid.

"Leo Valdez, that's what," Travis smirks triumphantly.

Um… excuse me?

I stare at him, then say slowly, "And _what_ exactly does the Hephaestus hero have to do with me?" I am seriously baffled.

Connor makes a mocking, cooing noise. "Aw, how cute. She called him a _hero_."

Insert face palm.

"He IS a hero, dumbass. He's part of the Great Prophecy, isn't he?" I say flatly.

That shut him up. For a moment.

"Still," he says slyly, grinning at Travis, who snickers.

The latter says to me in what he clearly thinks is a smart-sounding tone, "Well, little sister-" Idiot. I'm only younger than him by a year _and _I'molder than Connor. By a month. "Me and Connor have brilliantly deducted that you – after paying close attention to you for a while, of course – We've concluded – brilliantly, I might add-"

"Yeah, I think I got that," I say dryly. He ignores me.

"That _you_... may actually _like_ Leo Valdez."

Silence.

Face, meet Palm. Palm, meet Face. You two are to be very well acquainted this evening.

"You have _got_ to be kidding," I finally groan, rolling my eyes up to the heavens. (Well, the ceiling really, but whatever).

Travis and Connor snicker and smirk at me, at the same time. It doesn't really work, and they look like dumbasses, but since that's what they are I'll leave it to them.

"Don't deny it, Nixie, we all know it's true," Connor grins, dropping onto his bed and pulling a can of Coke out of his 'secret' stash.

Muahaha. He's gunna drink it. _Oh, yeah_! Score one to Nix. (You'll see why… soon enough).

"No, seriously," I say disbelievingly, staring from him to Travis, who looks smug. "How the hell did you come to that demented conclusion?"

Travis at least has the smarts to look offended by the comment. "Hey, I thought I said it was a _brilliant_ deduction!"

"Brilliant, my ass," I snort, rolling my eyes and starting to head out.

"Aw, don't be like that Nixie-poo," Connor calls from his bed. "We saw you ogling Valdez at the Monster Fighting class." I can hear the amused smirk in his voice. I blow air out of my mouth and turn to face him boredly.

Seriously, their brains are messed up.

"I wasn't ogling anyone at that, or any other class, Connor. Not like either of you would've noticed – Travis was too busy drooling over Katie Gardner and you were asleep half the time," I smirk my own badass smirk and, ignoring their protesting remarks, turn back and head out confidently.

I'm such an awesome liar.

Not that I _was_ lying… Well, sort of. I mean, Leo's pretty cute, you know, you gotta admire him. But I don't like him. I haven't even spoken to the guy!

Just as I was ten steps away from the cabin, two shocked yells came from it.

"NIX! YOU ARE SO DEAD!"

Ah, guess they figured out my little prank.

Laughing, I ran to the forest, knowing they might chase me, and I'd like a head start if they do.

I weave my way through the trees and bushes, not going too far. It's a lot safer to stick to a track that I know. I glanced behind me to make sure I wasn't being followed, still grinning, before doing the unavoidable and stumbling over my own feet. I crash into someone in front of me and we both fall to the ground, hard.

Ouch. You'd think that, after fifteen years of inevitable clumsiness, I'd remember the fact that I should always, ALWAYS, watch where I'm going so I don't fall over a stray root or jutting out rocks or (the most common) my own feet.

But nope. Nix Rayde, still as clumsy as ever.

"Ow, sorry, you fine?" a guy's voice says from in front of me and I snap back to reality as he puts his hand out to pull me up.

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that," I mutter, taking it and hauling myself off the floor before looking up. My eyes widen slightly as I look at the disheveled Leo Valdez.

That's right. I just crashed into one of the heroes of the Prophecy and sent him flying to the ground. _Smooth, Rayde, real smooth_.

"No problem… um, what's your name?" he says, a little awkwardly, dusting his somewhat grimy clothes off.

"Nix Rayde."

Leo's eyes narrow critically at me, like he's trying to remember something. Then he grins suddenly, surprising me. "Hey, you're the Phoenix girl!"

… Oh,_ Styx_.

And stop laughing. Go blame my mother for her darned sense of names.

I sigh. "Yeah. And you're the flaming Valdez kid." (Don't judge me. I'm a highly sociable person who makes new friends with one word. Yeah, be jealous.)

He looks amused as we start to walk back to camp. (I think I can safely deduce that my brothers are not following me. Believe me – I would've heard those buffoons a mile off).

"'Flaming Valdez kid'?" Leo laughs. He's got a cute laugh. "That's a new one."

I grin and shake my head. "Dude, half the kids here call you that, didn't you know? It's like your title."

"Really?" He sounds surprised. I don't know why; doesn't this guy realise how popular he is?

"Why do you sound so surprised?" I ask him, amused. Leo shrugs nonchalantly and rakes a hand through his black curls, a corner of his mouth upturned in a half-smile.

"I was expecting something more like 'Jason's flaming sidekick'," he jokes. I chuckle, but I also detect a flicker of something in his brown eyes… gods, he doesn't actually believe that, did he?

"Nah," I say easily, looking around the camp area casually (and noting with relief that Connor and Travis are nowhere to be seen). "A lot of the campers hero-worship you as much as Jason and Piper," I add with a wide grin.

Leo raises an eyebrow and gives me a look, though a smile's twitching on his lips. "Now I know you're kidding."

I widen my eyes innocently. "Hey, just because I'm a kid of Hermes doesn't mean I'm_ always _kidding."

"Sure… Why were you running anyway?"

Very subtle subject change. But I let it go. It's probably a touchy subject with him, I could tell that much.

What can I say? I'm perceptive. It kinda makes up for the clumsiness.

Almost.

"I pranked Travis and Connor," I reply, narrowing my eyes as we near the Hermes cabin, but there's no sign of any disturbances around here. Yet. "Again."

"Seriously? What'd you do?" Leo grins, looking interested.

I smirk and brush my amber fringe from my eyes. "Filled half their Coke cans with chili sauce. It wasn't too original, but-"

"That's brilliant!" He cracks up laughing, and my grin widens.

Dude, I made Leo Valdez laugh._ The _Leo Valdez!

Someone do me a favour and deflate my head, please.

"Hey, you're pretty funny," Leo grins at me, and I feel my mouth tug up into a smile.

"It's a gift," I manage to say 'modestly'. I wave over at Nyssa (from Hephaestus) as we pass Cabin Nine. We walked on in the direction of the dining area, seeing as it's almost lunch-time. "According to my brothers, you're quite the clown yourself," I grin, nudging him lightly.

The corner of Leo's lips twists up into half a grin and he shrugs with a small smirk. "It's a gift."

Hey, those are my words!

I pout and cross my arms. "Oy, don't steal _my _witty words! They're precious."

"Why, does your brain need to refuel before it can think of more witty remarks?" he asks innocently.

"Hey!" I punch his arm indignantly. "I don't like you, Leo."

"You do too. Everyone loves me; I'm irresistible," Leo jokes, flashing me a cocky grin.

Well, I can see where he got that from...

Focus, Nix!

I roll my eyes despite the grin forming on my face. "You believe that if it helps you sleep at night. I know the truth."

This time Leo looks offended. "Hey! And you think_ I'm _mean!"

"You are."

"Am not!"

"Whatever," I laugh at his adorably cute indignant look. We stop in front of the food area just as the conch horn sounds for lunch and the other campers start filing in.

I grin up at Leo. "Guess I'll see you later then."

"Yeah," he grins back crookedly, before starting off for his table. "See ya, Nix."

The wide grin doesn't leave my face as I sit at the Hermes table and fill up my plate.

I just spent all that time talking and joking with_ Leo Valdez_! I can not believe this. Oh, wow.

Hey, does this mean we're friends now?

Awesome!

I go up to scrape part of my food into the fire, muttering "_Hermes_" then getting back to the table, which (thankfully) is much less crowded than it used to be. I glance up and catch Leo's eye across the room with a smile and he winks back with a 'sup' nod.

Of course, though, my good mood can't possibly stay, can it?

"Oh, Nixie, there you are!"

I groan dismally as - you guessed it - Connor and Travis sit on either side of me, identical smirks on their faces.

"Hello," I say mock-politely, reaching for my drink.

"Nixie, Nixie, _Nixie_," Travis sighs, dramatically shaking his head._ Will he ever stop calling me that_? "Whatever shall we do with you?"

"Leave me alone?" I suggest hopefully. _Please?_

Connor's smirk widens. "Oh, Hades no. You didn't really think we'd let that ingenious prank of yours go, did you?"

_Oh Styx_. I think I know where this is going.

That tone can only mean one thing...

"This," Travis says with a challeng, determined glint in his eyes. "Means WAR."

...

I knew it.

"And you can ask Valdez for help too, since we can't exactly go two-on-one on our own lovely sister, now, can we? That just wouldn't be fair," Connor adds in a would-be casual voice.

My eyes snap back to him suspiciously. They didn't...?

"Yeah, we saw you two," he grins, waving a hand airily.

"Didn't we _tell_ you we knew?" Travis adds, cocking an eyebrow smugly.

I roll my eyes, acting unconcerned. "Congrats. You saw me talking to Leo. You want a medal?"

Connor sniggers, "Aw, you on first-name basis? How sweet."

Face, meet your second-best friend, Table. Because Palm just isn't hard enough.

I look up, ignoring my brother's snickers, and see that Leo's watching with a highly amused expression. I send him a '_save me from these lunatic idiots_' look, to which he smirks in amusement. I scowl at him.

Some friend.

**So? :P I tried my best at getting Leo's characterisation right, though I'm not too sure with it. Hopefully, the longer I write, the better I'll get. Next chappie will most likely have Leo's POV (yay!) :D Stay tuned.**

**Ooh, and first three reviewers (or maybe five...) will get a special thank you in the next chapter, whenever that some out. 'Cause I've got school work and stuff, but I'll try doing it quickly. =) **

**Cheers!**

**~izzy x**


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